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Regulated Food and Feed Products for Great Britain

Guidance on using the Register of Smoke Flavouring Authorisations

Introduction

From 1 April 2025, The Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 means that authorisations now come into effect following ministerial decision and are published in the register, rather than statutory instrument. The FSA and FSS official registers are the primary source of information on the regulated products authorised for market in Great Britain (GB). This electronic register is the domestic list referred to in assimilated EU Regulation No. 2065/2003. It sets out the list of smoke flavouring primary products permitted for use in GB and provides detailed information on each of the approved primary products, including their conditions of use.

Further information and guidance on smoke flavouring authorisations can be found here.

Understanding the register fields

Summary page

The summary page lists all permitted primary products and includes:

  1. The name and unique code of each primary product
  2. Source material
  3. Holder
  4. Status and Applies in
  5. Food categories in which the primary product can be used
  6. The date the register entry was last updated.

Maximum usage amounts for each smoke flavouring can be viewed if you hover over the food category numbers. You must check the individual product page to see the notes for the usage of smoke flavourings.

Product page

Each primary product entry on the register includes its name, along with the following sections:

Product details

  1. The unique code for each primary product – e.g. SF-001. The authorisations for SF-007 and SF-010 expired on 1 January 2024 and so these primary products have been removed from this register.
  2. Smoke flavouring name
  3. Authorisation holder – name and address
  4. Source material – type(s) of wood used to generate the smoke from which the primary products are made
  5. Purity – limits for certain metals
  6. Specification – parameters to describe and characterise each primary product e.g., pH range, the amount of acids, water, phenols, or carbonyl compounds

Status

  1. Status – for example authorised or revoked, and accompanying notes.
  2. Applies in – this sets out if the primary product is authorised in England, Wales and Scotland or only certain countries
  3. Status change date – date which the status was changed or changes to any parts of the authorisation e.g. changes to authorisation holder.

Terms of authorisation

  1. Conditions of use – which foods the primary products can be used in and maximum levels
  2. Notes on the use of primary products
  1. A link to any relevant legislation for additional information. This legislation, or parts of it, may have been revoked by The Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025, but the authorisations themselves are preserved.

Updates

  1. Last updated – this register became the official public register of authorised smoke flavourings on 1 April 2025, so this date will appear unless an authorisation has been updated more recently.

Food category

The food categories used for smoke flavourings are based on those initially used in the food additive legislation (assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008). However, in some cases, the food categories in the additive legislation were revised over time, which was not reflected in the smoke flavourings legislation and therefore there are some differences.

The notable differences are for the meat categories 8.1.2. and 8.2:

  • Meat preparations (8.1.2) cover those products which meet the definition of a meat preparation as set out in assimilated EU Regulation 853/2004. For example, fresh meat, including meat that has been minced, such as burger meat and breakfast sausages.
  • Meat products (8.2) include processed meat such as bacon and ham.

GB guidance on the food categories is in development and a link to the guidance will be provided in the future. A list of all the food categories is available at the bottom of this page.

Maximum use levels are set out for each food category and relate to the levels that may be used in the food as it is marketed. The only exception is for dried or concentrated foods that are reconstituted or diluted before use.

Note 1 states the maximum levels that apply to the food, as prepared for consumption following any minimum dilution instructions on the packaging. It also states that the levels apply to the primary product itself. This means that when primary products are used to produce derived smoke flavourings, maximum levels must be adjusted accordingly based on the amount of primary product in the derived smoke flavouring.

Note 2 states that if two or more primary products are used in a food, the levels must be reduced proportionally. Industry guidance on this matter, including a spreadsheet to help calculate revised levels, can be found at: European Flavour Association website

Note 3 states that there are no maximum use levels when primary products are used to smoke processed meat (8.2) or processed fish and fishery products (9.2). In these cases, the primary product must be used in accordance with good manufacturing practices. This exemption exists as it is difficult to estimate how much of the smoke flavouring will be present in the final food due to loss during the smoking process.

Note 4 explains when a primary product can be present in a food not listed under the conditions of use. For example, if a primary product is permitted in a sauce (12.6) then it can also be present in an ice cream (3.0) even if there are no permissions for use for food category 3.0. However, the smoke flavouring can only be present in the sauce itself and not added directly to ice cream. Additionally, the level of primary product in the ice cream must not be greater than would be introduced using the sauce under proper technological conditions and good manufacturing practice.

Alternatively, if a primary product is allowed in ice cream but not sauces, then the primary product could be added to the sauce provided it is only used in the production of the ice cream. Any carryover rules mentioned above do not apply to food specifically made for infants and young children such as infant formulae and baby foods.

The register enables a free-text search of entries which may be filtered using the following fields for individual primary product entries:

  1. Food category
  2. Applies in
  3. Status

Table of food categories

Number Name
0 All categories of foods
1 Dairy products and analogues
1.1 Unflavoured pasteurised and sterilised (including UHT) milk
1.2 Unflavoured fermented milk products, including natural unflavoured buttermilk (excluding sterilised buttermilk) non-heat-treated after fermentation
1.3 Unflavoured fermented milk products, heat-treated after fermentation
1.4 Flavoured fermented milk products including heat-treated products
1.5 Dehydrated milk
1.6 Cream and cream powder
1.6.1 Unflavoured pasteurised cream (excluding reduced fat creams)
1.6.2 Unflavoured live fermented cream products and substitute products with a fat content of less than 20 %
1.6.3 Other creams
1.7 Cheese and cheese products
1.7.1 Unripened cheese excluding products falling in category 16
1.7.2 Ripened cheese
1.7.3 Edible cheese rind
1.7.4 Whey cheese
1.7.5 Processed cheese
1.7.6 Cheese products (excluding products falling in category 16)
1.8 Dairy analogues, including beverage whiteners
2 Fats and oils and fat and oil emulsions
2.1 Fats and oils essentially free from water (excluding anhydrous milkfat)
2.2 Fat and oil emulsions mainly of type water-in-oil
2.2.1 Butter and concentrated butter and butter oil and anhydrous milkfat
2.2.2 Other fat and oil emulsions including spreads and liquid emulsions
2.3 Vegetable oil pan spray
3 Edible ices
4 Fruit and vegetables
4.1 Unprocessed fruit and vegetables
4.1.1 Entire fresh fruit and vegetables
4.1.2 Peeled, cut and shredded fruit and vegetables
4.1.3 Frozen fruit and vegetables
4.2 Processed fruit and vegetables
4.2.1 Dried fruit and vegetables
4.2.2 Fruit and vegetables in vinegar, oil, or brine
4.2.3 Canned or bottled fruit and vegetables
4.2.4 Fruit and vegetable preparations, excluding products covered by 5.4
4.2.4.1 Fruit and vegetable preparations excluding compote
4.2.4.2 Compote, excluding products covered by category 16
4.2.5 Jam, jellies and marmalades and similar products
4.2.5.1 Extra jam and extra jelly
4.2.5.2 Jam, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut puree
4.2.5.3 Other similar fruit or vegetable spreads
4.2.5.4 Nut butters and nut spreads
4.2.6 Processed potato products
5 Confectionery
5.1 Cocoa and chocolate products
5.2 Other confectionery including breath refreshening microsweets
5.3 Chewing gum
5.4 Decorations, coatings and fillings, except fruit based fillings covered by category 4.2.4
6 Cereals and cereal products
6.1 Whole, broken, or flaked grain
6.2 Flours and other milled products and starches
6.2.1 Flours
6.2.2 Starches
6.3 Breakfast cereals
6.4 Pasta
6.4.1 Fresh pasta
6.4.2 Dry pasta
6.4.3 Fresh pre-cooked pasta
6.4.4 Potato gnocchi
6.4.5 Fillings of stuffed pasta (ravioli and similar)
6.5 Noodles
6.6 Batters
6.7 Pre-cooked or processed cereals
7 Bakery wares
7.1 Bread and rolls
7.1.1 Bread prepared solely with the following ingredients: wheat flour, water, yeast or leaven, salt
7.1.2 Pain courant français; Friss búzakenyér, fehér és félbarna kenyerek
7.2 Fine bakery wares
8 Meat
8.1 Unprocessed meat
8.1.1 Unprocessed meat other than meat preparations
8.1.2 Meat preparations
8.2 Processed meat
8.2.1 Non-heat-treated processed meat
8.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat
8.2.3 Casings and coatings and decorations for meat
8.2.4 Traditionally cured meat products with specific provisions concerning nitrites and nitrates
8.2.4.1 Traditional immersion cured products (Meat products cured by immersion in a curing solution containing nitrites and/or nitrates, salt and other components)
8.2.4.2 Traditional dry cured products. (Dry curing process involves dry application of curing mixture containing nitrites and/or nitrates, salt and other components to the surface of the meat followed by a period of stabilisation/maturation).
8.2.4.3 Other traditionally cured products. (Immersion and dry cured processes used in combination or where nitrite and/or nitrate is included in a compound product or where the curing solution is injected into the product prior to cooking)
9 Fish and fisheries products
9.1 Unprocessed fish and fisheries products
9.1.1 Unprocessed fish
9.1.2 Unprocessed molluscs and crustaceans
9.2 Processed fish and fishery products including molluscs and crustaceans
9.3 Fish roe
10 Eggs and egg products
10.1 Unprocessed eggs
10.2 Processed eggs and egg products
11 Sugars, syrups, honey and table-top sweeteners
11.1 Sugars and syrups
11.2 Other sugars and syrups
11.3 Honey
11.4 Table-top sweeteners
11.4.1 Table-top sweeteners in liquid form
11.4.2 Table-top sweeteners in powder form
11.4.3 Table-top sweeteners in tablets
12 Salts, spices, soups, sauces, salads and protein products
12.1 Salt and salt substitutes
12.1.1 Salt
12.1.2 Salt substitutes
12.2 Herbs, spices, seasonings
12.2.1 Herbs and spices
12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments
12.3 Vinegars
12.4 Mustard
12.5 Soups and broths
12.6 Sauces
12.7 Salads and savoury based sandwich spreads
12.8 Yeast and yeast products
12.9 Protein products, excluding products covered in category 1.8
13 Foods intended for particular nutritional uses
13.1 Foods for infants and young children
13.1.1 Infant formulae
13.1.2 Follow-on formulae
13.1.3 Processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children
13.1.4 Other foods for young children
13.1.5 Dietary foods for infants and young children for special medical purposes and special formulae for infants
13.1.5.1 Dietary foods for infants for special medical purposes and special formulae for infants
13.1.5.2 Dietary foods for babies and young children for special medical purposes
13.2 Dietary foods for special medical purposes
13.3 Dietary foods for weight control diets intended to replace total daily food intake or an individual meal (the whole or part of the total daily diet)
13.4 Foods suitable for people intolerant to gluten
14 Beverages
14.1 Non-alcoholic beverages
14.1.1 Water, including natural mineral water and spring water and all other bottled or packed waters
14.1.2 Fruit juices and vegetable juices
14.1.3 Fruit nectars and vegetable nectars and similar products
14.1.4 Flavoured drinks
14.1.5 Coffee, tea, herbal and fruit infusions, chicory; tea, herbal and fruit infusions and chicory extracts; tea, plant, fruit and cereal preparations for infusions, as well as mixes and instant mixes of these products
14.1.5.1 Coffee, coffee extracts
14.1.5.2 Other
14.2 Alcoholic beverages, including alcohol-free and low-alcohol counterparts
14.2.1 Beer and malt beverages
14.2.2 Wine and other products and alcohol-free counterparts
14.2.3 Cider and perry
14.2.4 Fruit wine and made wine
14.2.5 Mead
14.2.6 Spirit drinks
14.2.7 Aromatised wine-based products
14.2.7.1 Aromatised wines
14.2.7.2 Aromatised wine-based drinks
14.2.7.3 Aromatised wine-product cocktails
14.2.8 Other alcoholic drinks including mixtures of alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks and spirits with less than 15 % of alcohol
15 Ready-to-eat savouries and snacks
15.1 Potato-, cereal-, flour- or starch-based snacks
15.2 Processed nuts
16 Desserts excluding products covered in categories 1, 3 and 4
17 Food supplements excluding food supplements for infants and young children
17.1 Food supplements supplied in a solid form including capsules and tablets and similar forms, excluding chewable forms
17.2 Food supplements supplied in a liquid form
17.3 Food supplements supplied in a syrup-type or chewable form
18 Processed foods not covered by categories 1 to 17, excluding foods for infants and young children

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